The world’s largest Jewish service organization is mobilizing its membership in 45 countries to counter the propaganda war being waged against Israel’s attempt to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization from Lebanon.
As part of the effort, B’nai B’rith International is sending letters to each of more than 200,000 members in the United States. The last time such letters were sent was in March 1977 following the Hanafi Muslim take over of B’nai B’rith International headquarters here. Included in the packet is a four-page folder which provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Lebanese situation.
Among the issues discussed, the folder takes up the basic issue of why Israel has moved all the way to Beirut instead of stopping at the 40-kilometer line as it originally had indicated it would. Other questions include the issues of civilian casualties, the alleged violation of agreements on the use of American arms, and the so-called division among Jews over the war. The folder also instructs B’nai B’rith members on how to make their views known to government officials and the public at large.
‘VIGOROUSLY’ SUPPORTS ISRAEL’S ROLE
In a covering letter, B’nai B’rith president Jack Spitzer and executive vice president Dr. Daniel Thursz inform members that the organization’s leadership “vigorously” supports Israel’s role in the current crisis and endorses the Israeli-American peace plan that calls for the reestablishment of a central Lebanese government, guaranteed security of Israel’s northern border and the removal of all foreign forces from Lebanon.
Spitzer and Thursz add that through B’nai B’rith’s grass roots action network, B’nai B’rith has been expressing its support for Israel to President Reagan, the Congress and the media. At the same time,” we have urged our membership in other countries to take similar action with their own governments,” they say.
The two top leaders add that “we support efforts to move quickly to assure Palestinian autonomy within the framework of the Camp David accords.” Spitzer and Thursz note that B’nai B’rith has donated $5,000 to help Lebanese victims of the current fighting. They called on members to send additional donations to the B’nai B’rith Foundation. These funds will be channeled to the Magen David Adom (Israel’s version of the Red Cross) for use in Lebanon.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
